churchyard lichen
the living and dead
in symbiosis
Editor's Choice, Cattails, October 2017
Martha Magenta
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
教堂墓地青苔
生者與死者
共處一地
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
教堂墓地青苔
生者与死者
共处一地
Bio Sketch
Martha
Magenta lived in England, UK. Her haiku and tanka had appeared in a
number of journals, and anthologies. She was awarded Honourable Mentions
for her haiku in The Fifth Annual Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards,
2017, and in the 71st Basho Memorial English Haiku Contest, 2017, and
for her tanka in UHTS “Fleeting Words” Tanka Contest 2017.
Martha Magenta’s haiku balances many things and the first line itself is indicative of that. Lichens are a symbol of life and symbiosis between organisms, and are intriguing in their appearance. The churchyard is normally associated with the dead. These two images in the first line provide tautness to the haiku. Lines two and three turn the concept of symbiosis around – the mutually beneficial relationship of the living and the dead. The haiku is layered and each reading gave me new insight. Many images flash – of the living visiting the dead in the churchyard, of the hues and shapes of moss, of lichen growing in an environment that is nourished by the dead. The symbiosis in the last line links back to the images in the first line, especially the lichen. To me, this haiku also suggests an acceptance of the dead and death, just as we accept life and the living.
ReplyDelete-- excerpted from editor's commentary, accessed at http://www.cattailsjournal.com/issues/cattails_final_Oct2017.pdf